Bottle carrier



M. HALL, IETAL BOTTLE CARRIER 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed July 12. 1

STTE PATENTA Ghigi@ BGTTLE $ARRIEB Maynard Grllall, Rutherford, and Thomas Hurban, Jn, Hasbrouck Heights, N. i., assignors to Empire v E l Claims. This invention relates to'bottle carriers and particularly to bottle carriers that are fabricated in a collapsible form from material such as cardv board.

made' from material such as cardboard so as to,

adora an upstanding handle section adapted to be grasped by the user and having a pair of bottle receiving sections on opposite sides of the handle into which bottles may be inserted in a downward direction so as to rest upon a bottom wall that is associated with the bottle receiving sections by means of downwardly extended side walls that embrace the outer sides of the bottles. According to the most usual practice in the art, such bottle carriers are arranged to accomodate two rows of three bottles each, the two rows being disposed in symmetrical relation on opposite sides of the handle section. In the use of such carriers it is usually considered to be essential that the parts be so formed and arranged that the loaded carriers may be placed-in the usual cases in which the particular kind of bottles are usually handied. It is also important that the carriers be so constructed that such carriers may be stacked one upon the other, thereby to enable the loaded carriers to be economically stacked and stored, and for this reason it is important that the handle-section be so arranged that it may be depressed to a position beneath the tops of the bottles when the carriers are to be stacked one upon the other. V

In attaining the desirable characteristics above outlined, it has heretofore been the usual practice in the art to construct the bottle carriers so that there is no direct weight supporting connection between the handle and the center portion of the bottom wall of the carrier, and as a result of this it has been necessary for all of the weight of the bottles to be transmitted through the bottle separating webs of the bottle receiving sections to the handle section of the carrier. This manner of transmitting the load fromv the bottom wall to the handle section has necessitated the use of relatively heavy and high quality cardboard, with the result that such prior bottle carriers have been quite expensive, and it is an important object of the present invention to enable bottle carriers to embody all of the desirable characteristics above set forth while enabling such bottlecarriers to be made from a relatively light grade or weight of stock. Further and more speciilc objects of the present invention are to enable tneweigns of the battles in a home car- Box Corporation, Garileid, N. d., a cor'- rier to be transmitted directly from the central portion of the bottom wall to the handle section in such a manner that the handle section may readily be depressed when the user desires to stack Aone bottle carrier upon another, and to enable relatively thin and light weight separating webs to be utilized in the bottle receiving sections of a bottle carrier.

In the attainment of relatively smalldimensions in a bottle carrier so as to enable the carrier to be disposed in the usual cases in which the bottles are transported, the width of the bottle carrier, that is the dimension parallel to the two rows of bottles, is quite important and must be only slightly more than the combined diameters of the three bottles of a row, and'ln attaining this result, it is customary to make the Webs that separate the bottles so as to be quite thin, and in respect to the two webs that are disposed on opposite sides of the central bottle of 'one of the rows, this may be readily and easily accomplished in the manner disclosed in the copending application of Joseph L. Lyons, Serial No. 301,915, illed October 30, 1939, or in Letters Patent of Joseph L. Lyons, No. 2,432,481, iled February 7, 1942. As to the end webs of each bottle receiving section. however, the attainment of the desired smallness of dimension has heretofore required the use of reenforcing anges along the ends of the bottle receiving sections, and these reenforcing ianges have necessitated the use of added Width in the blanks from which the carriers are made, and to enable such reenforcing flanges or flaps to be eliminated while still maintaining the desired smallnes's of dimension of the carrierthat is a still further object of the present invention. Another and related object is to form the end webs of the bottle receiving sections of a bottle carrier in such a way that these webs assume an angular position when the bottles are in position, and a further object is to so form such end webs of the bottle receiving sections that although they are disposed in such generally angular position, these webs may bend readily and easily as an incident to the movements required when the handle section is depressed or elevated.

In bottle carriers of the kind to which this invention relates it is customary to form a linger receiving opening near the upper edge of the handle section, and itis also customary to provide a protecting or surfacing ap that is bent out of the plane of one of the panels of the handle receiving section and through the iinger receiving opening in the other of such panels, and it is a further object of the present invention to so `blank that is utilized in carrier of Fig. l;

asomo? embodying the same or equivalent principle may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention andthe purview of the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. l is a perspective view of a bottle carrier embodying the features of the invention, the carrier being shown in its fully erected position Fig. 2 is an elevational view of one face of a constructing the bottle Fig. 3 is an elevational view of one side face of the carrier of Fig. l whenv the carrier is in its collapsed condition; z

Fig. 4 is an end elevational view of the collapsed carrier shown in Fig.: 3;

Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of the carrier 5.30-

with the bottles loaded therein;

. Fig. 6 is an end elevational view of the loaded carrier: i

Fig. 'I is a view similar to Fig. 6 and showing the parts in the positions which they assume when th`e handle section is depressed for purposes of stacking; Y

Fig. 8 is a fragmental perspective view showing the relationship of the weight transmitting elements when the handle section is in the upper or carrying position shown in Fig. 6; v

Fig. 9vis a view similar to'Flg. 8 and showing the positions of the weight transmitting elements when the handle section is depressed to the posin tion shown in Fig. '1; and v Fig. 10 is a fragmental sectional view taken substantially along the line Il -II of Fig. 5.

In the form chosen for disclosure herein the invention is embodied in a bottle carrier 2l which, in the erected form shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, comprises an upstanding handle section 2|. a pairv of generally horizontal bottle receiving sections 22A and 22B extended outwardly from opposite sides of the lower ends of the handle section, side wall sections 23A and 23B extended downwardly 'from the outer side edges-of the respective bottle receiving sections, and a pair of connected bottom wall panels or sections NA and 24B extended between and connected tothe lower edges of the side walls. 'I'he carrier 23 is particularly adapted to contain six bottles B arranged in two rows of three bottles each, one row being disposed in the bottle receiving section on eachside of the handle section 2|.

The bottlew carrier 23 of the present invention is formed froma materialsuch as cardboard, and in the production of the carrier, the cardboard stock is yinitially formed as an elongated rectangular blank that is shown in detail in Fig. 2

of the drawings. The elongated lblank has a: glue ilap 25 formed along one end thereof so as to be joined along a fold line 23 to the edge of a panel ZIB that in the finished carton will form a part of the handle section 2l. ,At its other end the blank is formed toaiford cpanel- 2M that Will form the other side of the handle section 2i in the ilnished carton, and intermediate the panels 2IA and 2iB, the parts that are to form the bottle receiving sections 22A and 22B, the side wall 5 sections 23A and 23B and the bottom panels 24A and 24B 'are disposed. Thus the bottle receiving section 22A is joined to' the adjacentedge of the panel 2IA along a discontinuous fold line 21A, -`while the other edge of the bottle receiving seclo tion 22A is joined to one edge of the side wall section 23A along a discontinuous fold line 28A. The other or lower edge of the side wall section 23A is joined to one edge of the bottom panel 24A along a fold line 23A, while the other edge of the bottom panel 24A is joined to one edge of the other bottom panel 24B along a fold line 30 that is located midway between the fold line 28 and the opposite end of the blank.

The corresponding elements of the other side of the carrier 23,are, in the blank of Fig. 2, similarly Joined' together along fold lines as hereinabove described. Thus the bottle receiving section 22B is joined along its opposite edges to the .panel 2IB andthe side wall section 23B along discontinuous fold lines 21B and 28B respectively, whilethe other or lower edge of the -side wall section 23B is connected to the outer or other edge of the bottom panel 24B alonga'fold line 23B.

It Ahas been pointed out hereinabove that each of the bottle receiving sections 22A and 22B is adapted to receive a row of three bottles B, and each such bottle receiving section is therefore yprovided with three bottle receiving openings which, in the bottle receiving section `22A, are

indicated as 35AI, 35A2.and 35A3. Informing or defining these three bottle receiving openings, each bottle receiving section is arranged to afford a pair of end webs 36 which dene the outer end 40 edges of the bottle receiving openings 35A| and 33A3, while a pair of webs 31 are provided in spaced relation to each other and with respect to the end webs 36 so as to thereby define the inner edges of the end openings 35A! and 35A3 andthe 46 webs 31 also define the opposite side edges of the central opening .35A2.

The webs 31 of the bottle receiving sections are in the rpresent case formed substantially in the manner disclosed in the aforesaid Patent No.

50 2,432,481,Y dated December 9, 1947, thereby to render these webs relatively thin when they are in their operative condition shown in Fig. 1. Thus as will be evident in the blank illustrated in Fig. 2, the central opening 35A2 is formed by a pair of arcuate slits 38 extended from spaced portions 'of the fold line 21A in diverging relationship so as to merge respectively with parallel fold lines 3 9 that are disposed perpendicular to the fold linfe 21A. The two fold lines 39 are arranged'so afs tomeet angularly disposed slits lil'which are in verging slits I3 `are extended from each fold line 39 and the ends ofthe pairs of slits are connected by slits M that are parallel to thefold lines 39.

The slits 43 of each pair are arranged to meet and merge with the slits 38 and at't'he related fold line 39. JIhus the slits 38, 40, 4I, 43 and 44 cooperate to form a generally octagonal flap 45A2 that is 'joined in an unbroken or uncreased rela- 'tionship along one of its sides to the panel 21A.

d This relationship is such that in the erected carrier, the iiap 65412 remains in the plane of the panel ZIA so as to serve as a downwardly bottle cushioning ap disposed between bottles of the` two rows.

While the flaps t2 that are thus aiorded on the webs 3l will have a bottle separatingV and cushioning action when the carrier is loaded, the webs 3l are also provided with additional naps t8 formed so as to be connected along the score lines 39 with the triangular sections of material that are formed about the edges o the ilap 45A2. Thus a slit de is extended in alignment with the score line 38A and in opposite directions from each of the score lines 39, and the slits t9 are arranged to meet slits 53 that are formed parallel to the score lines 39 in outwardly spaced relation thereto. 'I'he slits 5B are arranged to meet with angular-ly disposed slits l that are extended in generally opposite directions from the points where the score lines 39 meet the score line NA, and the slits 139, 50 and 5l cooperate in dening the central the flaps i8 connected to the webs 3l along the fold lines 39 and which in the erected carrier serve as depending bottle cushioning aps disposed on opposite sides of the central bottle B.

The slits 5@ also serve to deiine one side edge of a pair of bottle separating naps SAi and llSAB that are formed from the material that is cut away in forming the bottle receiving openings 35M. and 35A3 respectively. These bottle' separating flaps l5AI and 5A3 are joined along their` upper edges to the panel 2IA in an unscored relationship, and the lower edges of these flaps are deiined by slits 52 that constitute outward continuations of the slits B9. The other sides of the flaps 45M and I5A3 are defined by discontinuous or section arcuate slits 53 and 53' that are extended from the fold line 21A downwardly and toward the slit 52. The ends oi the sections 53 and 53' are spaced apart so as to enable flaps 54 to be formed on the respective end webs 3B, and such iiaps 54 are deiined in each instance by spaced slits 55 parallel to the slit 52,and by a connecting slit 56 parallel to the slit 5B. The lower ends of the slits 53 are arranged to meet with the outer ends of slits 5l, the inner ends of which are extended to the juncture of the adjacent slits 5B and 52. This results in the formation of an opening 58 adiacent the lower end of each of the tabs B5AI and 45M. as will be evident in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

The arcuate or sectional slits 53 and 53' are so arranged thatv they are generally parallel to but spaced from the adjacent side edges of the blank, thereby to denne the relatively narrow end webs 3G, and these webs 36 are so formed and arranged that they will invariably assume a predetermined relation with -respect to the bottles B as such bottles are loaded in the carrier and also may be readily bent with relation to the side wall sections 23A and 23B and the handle section 2l when the handle section is moved up and down between its elevated position of Fig. 6 and its depressed or lowered position of Fig. 7. In accomplishing this the webs 3E are provided with a plurality of angularly related score lines that -function in cooperation with the iiaps 5I to enable such bending of the webs as will hereinafter become apparent. Thus a score line 59 is extended in an angular direction from the juncture of the slits 53' and 58 so that the score line 59 meets the adjacent side edge ofthe blank at a point that is aligned with the score line 28A, and from the outer end of the score line 59, a score line 6l is extended inwardly at an angie of substantially 45 with respect to the side edge of the .blank so as to meet the slit 53' at substantially the point at which the slit 53' meets the adjacent one of the slits 55.

Another pair of angularly `disposed score lines 5l and 52 are formed in each of the webs 36, the score lines 58 and 59 being arranged in a slightly diverging relation to each other so that these score lines are closest together at the outer ends thereof that extend to the edge of the blank. Thus the outer end of the score line 6l extends to the point where the score line 21A meets the side edge of the blank, While the other end of the score line El meets the slit 53 substantially midway between the ends of the slit 63. The other score line 62, at its inner end, is arranged to terminate at the juncture of the slit 53 and the adjacent slit 55, while at its outer end it is disposed relatively close to the score line 8|.

'lhuabyanarrangexnent of fold lines and slits as lust described, the openings A! and 35A?? and BSAE oi the bottle receiving section 22A are afiorded, and the necessary webs 3S and 3l are dened, and by a similar arrangement of fold lines and slits, the corresponding webs and bottle receivlng openings of the bottle receiving section @2B are provided, it being understood of course that the relationship of the fold lines and slits is reversed in the bottle receiving section 22B.

When the bottle carrier 20 is in its erected condition, it is desirable that the weight of the bottles IB loaded in the carrier be transmitted directly upwardly from the center portion of the bottom wall to the handle section 2|, thereby to relieve the webs 36 and 31 of substantially all weight supporting forces, and in attaining this result, it is also desirable that the handle section 2| be capable of depression from the elevated position of Fig. 6 to the depressed positionV of Fig. '1, thereby to enable the bottle carriers to be stacked one upon the other. I n accordance with the present invention, this desirable weight supporting action, coupled with the depressability of the handle section 2| is attained through the provision of lostmotion connections between the several bottle separating ilaps and means that are connected to the bottom wall of the carrier substantially Y along the central score line 30. Such lost-motion connections are aiorded in the present instance by means that are cut from the bottom wall sections 24A and 24B, and this is accomplished in such a way that the bottom wall sections will retain adequate material and strength to enable them to properly support the weight of the bottles thereon. Thus as will be evident in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the bottom wall section 24A has a pair of spaced connecting link members 65-I and 65-3 that are extended from the score line 30 toward the score line `29A in alignment with the bottle separating ilaps 45AI and 45A3. The bottom wall section 24B has a single connecting link`652 cut therefrom by appropriate slits so as to extend from the fold line 30 toward the fold line 29B and in alignment with the two bottle separatingaps 45A2 and 45132.

When the bottle carrier of the present invention is in its assembled condition of Figs. 3 and 4, or when it is in its erected condition of Fig. l, the connecting links 65-l, 65-2 and 65-3 are dis` posed in an upstanding relationship in a plane parallel to and disposed between the planes of the several bottle spacing iiaps 45, and a lostmotion connection is provided between each link 65 and the aligned aps I5, as will be evident in Figs. 1, 3, 8 and 9. In order that such a lostmotion connection `may be anorded each of the connecting links Il has an elongated slot l.

i'ormed therein, and each slot terminates in an end wall il that is spaced from the iree end of thelink. Eachlinkisdisposedbetweenthe alisnedpair o1 naps 4i, and thus for assembly purposes, the link BS-I is disposed between the aps BI and liAl. After this relationship has been established, a weight transmitting connection such as a staple 1l is extended through the opposed naps II in such a position as to extend freely through the slot $6 in the related link i5. `The relationship of the upper end walls il and the location of the staples 1l is such that when the handle section 2l is pulled upwardly slightly beyond the position shown in Fig. 6, each staple 1l engagesthe end 68 of the related slot Il, and thus a weight `transmitting connection is aorded between the'ilaps II and the several connecting links I5. 'The weight of `the bottles B is, of course, carried by the bottom panels 24A and 24B,

and in the connection it will be observed that the central bottle in one row spans the opening formed in the bottom panel 24Bsonas to rest on this panel on both sides'of such opening, and a similar relationship is attained in respect to the two end bottles that are rested on the panel 24A. The weight of the bottles is transmitted to the connecting links Il so as to be thereby transmitted directly upwardly through the flaps 45 and the handle portion 2l, and as a result of this arrangement, the connecting webs 3l and 31 of the bottle receiving sections sustain very little weight and serve primarily to space the bottles and retain the same in their upright positions. This of course enables the webs 3i and I1 to be of a relatively light construction, and this ad vantage is reflected in the entire carrier inasmuch as it enables the carrier as a whole to be made'frcm relatively light cardboard stock.

When the loaded carriers are to be stacked one upon the other, either in the cases in which they are shipped, or as a display in a retailstore, the handle sections 2i may be readily moved downwardly so as to be located beneath or at the same level as the tops of the bottles, and in such movement the handle section 2i is shifted `from the position of Fig. 6 to the position shown in Fig. 7. 'I'he iit of the bottles in the carrier is relatively snug, so that when the handle is depressed as aforesaid, the lower ends of the flaps 4l as well as the lower portions of the handle section will be frictionally gripped between the bottles so as to hold the 'handle sectionv against undesired upward displacement. It should be observed that the height of the handle section 2| is such that when it is in its upper position it may be grasped through the ilnger receiving opening, and the lower ends of the naps l5 are so spaced from the bottom wall that the handle section may be depressed to the protected position of Fig. 7. kIn the course of such a depressing movement of the handle section 2|, the ilaps 4I arecaused to move downwardly as will be best seen in Fig. 9 of the drawings, and in the course of such movement the staples 1l move downwardly through the slots 6I to substantially the positions shown in Figs. 'Tand 9. When the bottle carriers are again to be lifted by means of the handles 2i thereof, each handle is grasped and pulled upwardly into and somewhat beyond the position shown in Fig. 6, and the staples 1l thereby move upwardly through the slots 66 and into engagement with the upper ends BI of these slots. The desired weight and the weight of the bottles is primarily slipported upon the center portions of the bottom walls or panels of the carrier. It should be observed that the slots 6I terminate short of the fold line 3U, and hence in the erected carrier the lower portions of the links ll serve to space the lower edges of the bottles in one row from the lower edges of the bottles in the other row, and hence damage and wear to these lower edges is minimized.

It has been pointed out that the end webs Il of the carrier of the present invention are formed without the necessity for reenforcing end flaps along the outer edges thereof, thereby to materially reduce the effective width of the blank from ywhich the bottle carrier is made, and the webs Si are so formed as to enable these webs to conform with the shape of the bottles and to move in a generally pivotal manner or with a twisting action as the bottles are loaded therein. Thus, as a bottle B is inserted downwardly into one of the end openings, the bottle strikes the ap li. and since this flap is carried on the web ll in an uncreased relation, the web is in effect twisted fold lines 80, Il and i2 in such a manner that the paper stock or libres remain undamaged.

With the end webs 36 thus positioned, it will be clear that when the handle section 2l is to be de-v` pressed, the webs 38 may pivot along the fold lines 21. I! and l0 so as to assume the position illustrated in Fig. 7 of the drawings. 'I'hus the end webs It enable the desired up and down movements of the handle section 2l to be accomplished, and yet this movement and the requisite bending of the parts of the end webs Il may take place without breaking of the fibres of the end webs, and hence these webs retain their strength and 'are effective to hold the end bottles ln place.

In the lifting of a :bottle carrier of the charformed therein as will be evident in Fig. 2 of the y drawings, and in substantial alignment with this opening 12 and in the handle section or panel ZIB, av flap 13 is cut by appropriate slits so as to be connected to the panel ZIB along a fold line M that will in the nished or erected carrier be aligned with the upper edge of the opening 12. The flap 'I3 also has a fold line l5 formed therein parallel t`o and spaced a short distance from the fold line 'Il so that when the. flap 13 is forced through an opening 12,'the portion oi' the nap between the fold lines 'Il and 'I5 will be disposed so as to form a relatively wide area. panel 1i,

which as shown in Fig. 10, is disposed in a substantially horizontal position. The ends of the flap 'il have relatively small ears 18 formed thereon which serve to latch the ap 13 in its projecting relationship beyond the opening 12, as will be evident in Figs. 1 and 10. It should be transmitting relationshipis thereby reestablished in this connection that when the handle section observed is assembled. the'i'old line 'I4 is disposed slightly above the levelof the upper edge of the opening 12, so um wan the nap 1a is forced through the' face relationship, and in accomplishing such bending of the blank, the connecting links 65 are allowed to remain in the plane of the particular bottom section to which they are connected. In other words. these connecting links are not bent along the fold line 30. and hence when such folding operation has been completed, the connecting links 65 extend upwardly in substantially the relationship shown in 4 of the drawings. The opposite side portions of the carrier are then bent along the fold lines 29A and 29B so as to assume the relationship shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, and as an incident to this folding operation the glue flap 25 is bent along the fold line 26 into position between the two panels 2iA and 2|B, Suitable adhesive is applied to the glue flap 25 so as to secure the same to the opposed face 'of the handle section ZIA and hence the carrier is maintained substantially in the folded relationship shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The area of the two panels 2IA and 2|B lying between the upper edge and the fold line 21A may of course be secured together at all points by adhesive, but in the present instance, these panels are secured together adjacent to the fold lines 21A and 21B by means such as staples 'I8 that are located adjacent to the ends of the connecting webs 36, and hence separation of the lower portions of the handle sections or panels 2|A and ZIB is prevented. As will :be evident in Fig. 3 of the drawings, the collapsed or folded blank as thus formed has the several bottle spacing flaps 45 disposed in pairs on opposite sides of the related supporting links 65, and at this stage in the assembly operation, the staples 'l0 are placed in position so as to connect the pairs of iiaps 45 and extend through the slots 66 of the related connecting links 65. The assembly of the carrier is thus completed.- and the carrier assumes the form shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The carrier is of course: shipped in this at or Icollapsed form and is erected to the form shown in Fig. 1 when the bottles are to be loaded into the carrier.

From the foregoing description it will be evident that the present invention enables bottle carriers to be made in a simple and expeditious manner from cardboard or like material of a relatively light weight, and the invention also enables such carriers, even though they are made from light weight stock, to support the weight of the bottles without imposing objectionable or breaking forces upon the thin webs that separate the bottles. The present invention enables bottle carriers to be made in such a size that the loaded carriers may be positioned within the cases usually utilized in handling or shipping such bottles, and this is attained in such a utilized. Thus the present invention enables bottle carriers to be made with cardboard stock.

It will also be evident that the carrier of the present invention attains an effective transmission of the weight of the bottles to the handle section through material. that is disposed substantially in the plane of the handle section, thereby to avoid objectionable stresses in the webs oi' the bottle receiving sections, and under the present invention this result is attained in such a way that the handle section may readily be depressed when the loaded carriers' are to be stacked one upon the other.

f The present invention also provides a handle construction that transmits the weight of the loaded carrier to the hand of the use;` in an unusually eiective manner, and this result is attained in a simple manner and without the use of `-additional material.

The construction of the end webs of the bottle receivingsections of the present carrier is particularly valuable in that the necessary strength is attained in these end webs in such a manner that these webs are capable of pivoting and bending movement in the course of vertical movements of the handle section. Such bending and pivoting of the end webs of the bottle thevmlmmum t vreceiving sections is under the present invention attained in such a way that the strength of the end webs is preserved even though the handle section may be moved up and down many times in the course of useful life of the bottle carrier.

Thus, whiley we have illustrated and described the preferred \embodiment of our invention, it is tobe understood that this is capable of variation and modification and we therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail ourselves of such changes and alterations as fall within the purview of the following claims.

We claim: y

1. A pre-formed bottle carrier formed from cardboard yor like material and adapted to receive bottles of predetermined height and comprising, when erected, a bottom wall, side walls, a handle portion, and bottle receiving sections extended between the side walls and the handle portion whereby the handle portion is disposed above said bottom wall substantially midway between said side walls, said bottle receiving sections having bottle receiving openings therein, flaps cut from said bottle receiving sections and disposed to depend from the handle portion in alignment therewith, said handle portion including a part which may extend above the tops of bottles of said predetermined height that are disposed in said bottle receiving openings and rested on said bottom wall, said part having a handle opening therein, and means including slidably cooperating parts cut from said bottle receiving sections and from said bottom wall and forming lost-motion weight-supporting connections between central portion ofsaid bottom wall and said -handle portion to support the weight of suchbottles directly from said handle portion when said handle portion is in a projected upper position and allow depressing movement of said handle portion to a protected lower position when one carrier is to upon another. l

2. Al pre-formed bottle carrier formed from cardboard or like material and adapted to receive bottles of predetermined height and comprising, when erected, a bottom wall, side walls, a handle portion, and bottle receiving sections Abe stacked connecting links cut at least in part from the material of said bottom wall and slidably cooperating parts cut from said bottle receiving openings and affording lost-motion weight-supporting connections with said handle portion to support the weight oi' said bottles directly from said handle portion when said handle portion is in a projected upper position and allow depressing movement of said handle to a protected lower position when one carrier is to be stacked.

3. A pre-formed bottle carrier formed from cardboard or like lmaterial and adapted to receive bottles of predetermined height and comprising, when erected, a bottom wall, side walls, a handle portion, and bottle receiving sections extended between the side walls and the handle portion whereby the handle portion is disposed above said bottom wall substantially midway between said side walls. said bottle receiving sections having bottle receiving openings therein, naps cut from said bottle receiving sections and disposedl to depend from the handle portion in alignment therewith, said handle portion including a part which may extend above the tops of bottles oi' said predetermined height that are disposed in said bottle receiving openings and rested on said bottom wall, said part having a handle opening therein, and means including connecting links cut at least in part from the material of said bottom wall and affording lost-motion weightsupporting connections with said handle portion to support the weight of said bottles directly from said handle portion when said handle portion is inla projected upper position and allow depressing movement of said handle to a protected lower position when one carrier is to be stacked upon another.

4. A pre-formed bottle carrier formed from cardboard or like material and adapted to receive bottles of predetermined height and comprising a' bottom wall, side walls, ahandle portion. and bottle receiving sections vextended between the side walls and the handle portion whereby the handle portion is disposed above said bottom wall substantiaily midway between said side walls, said bottle receiving sections having bottle receiving openings therein, bottle cushioning flaps out from said bottle receiving sections and disposed to depend from the handle portion in alignment therewith, said handle portion including a part which may extend above the tops of bottles of said predetermined height that are disposed in said bottle receiving openings and rested on said bottom wall, said part having a handle opening therein,

and means including links cut from said bottom wall and also including said bottle cushioning flaps and ailording lost-motion. weight-supporting connections between said handle portion and central portions of said bottom wall and eilective when said handle portion is elevated to directly support said central portion of said bottom wall and also enabling the upper free end of said hanl2 a die portion to be moved downwardly substantially into alignment with the tops of the bottles whereby said part of said handle portion may be depressed so to enable stacking of loaded bottle s carriers one on top of another.

5. A pre-formed collapsible bottle carrier formed from cardboard or like material and adapted to receive bottles of predetermined height and comprising, when in its collapsed condition.

'10 side walls, a bottom wall formed in two sections joined along a fold line to each other and along other fold lines to corresponding edges oi' said side walls and disposed in an inverted v-shape formation between said side walls, a handle portion 1s comprising-a pair of panels disposed in race to face relation, and bottle receiving sections extended between the other edges of said side walls and the respective panels or said handle portion whereby the handle portion is disposed above said bottom wall and in substantially aligned relation therewith. said bottle receiving sections having bottle receiving openings therein, bottle cushioning naps cut from said bottle receiving sections and disposed to depend in pairs from the handle portion in alignment therewith and toward said bottom wall, said handle portion including a part which may extend above the tops of bottles of said predetermined height that are disposed in said bottle receiving openings and rested on said bottom wall when the carrier is erected, said part having a handle opening therein, and means including links cut from said bottom wall and extended between the bottle cushioning ilaps of each pair and affording lost-motion weight-supporting connections between said handle portion and central portions ofv said bottom wall and eil'ective when said carrier is erected and said handle portion is elevated to directly support said central portion ot said bottom wall and also enabling the 4o upper free end of said handle portion to be moved downwardly substantially into alignment with the tops of the bottles whereby said part of said handle portion may be depressed so as not to interfere with the stacking of one bottle carrying carrier of the aforesaid character directly over and upon the tops of another such carrier.

6. A pre-formed collapsible bottle carrier formed from cardboard or like material and adapted to receive bottles oi predetermined height and comprising, when in its collapsed condition,

formation between said side walls, a handle portioncomprising a pair of panels disposed in face' to face relation, and bottle receiving sections extended between the other edges of said side walls and the respective panels of said handle portion oo whereby the handle portion is disposed above said bottom wall and in substantially aligned relation therewith, said bottle receiving sections having bottle receiving openings therein, bottle receiving.

ilaps cut from said bottle receiving sections and disposed to depend in pairs from the handle portion in alignment therewith and toward said bottom wall, said handle portion including a part,l which may extend above the tops of bottles oi! said predetermined height that are disposed in nhaving a handle opening therein, longitudinally slotted links cut from said bottom wall and extended between the bottle cushioning flaps of each pair, and staples extending through the 13 respectivepairsolilapsandtheslotsoffherelated links to ail'ord lost-motion weight-supporting connections between said handle portion and central portions of said bottom wall and enective when said carrier is erected and said handle portion is elevated to directly support said central portion of said bottom wall.

7. A pre-formed bottle can'ier formed from Arai-aboard or like material and adapted to re-Y ceive bottles of predetermined height and comprising side walls, abottom wall. a handle portion comprising juxtaposed. panels, and bottle receiving sections extended between'- the side walls and the respective panels of said handle portion whereby the handle portion isdisposed above said bottom wall substantially midway between saidside walls. said bottle receiving sections having bottle receiving openings therein, bottle cushioning naps cut from said bottle receiving sections and disposed to depend in opposed pairs from the respective panels of said handle portion in alignment therewith, said handle portion including a part which may extend above the tops of bottles of said predetermined height that are disposed in said bottle receiving openings and rested on said bottom wall.

. portion to thereby enable the upper free end of said part having a handle opening therein, said Y naps having the lower edges thereof normally spaced from said bottom wall suillciently to venable limited downward movement of said handle portion to thereby enable the upper free end of said handle portion to be moved downwardly substantially into alignment with the tops of the bottles whereby said part of said handle portion may be depressed so as not to interfere with the stacking of one bottle carrying carrier of the aforesaid character directly over and upon the tops of bottles in another such carrier, connecting links cut from the material of said bottom wall and connected thereto substantially midway between said side walls, said connecting links having longitudinally extended slots formed therein. and said links being extended upwardly so as to project between the pairs of bottle cushioning ilaps, and means extended through each pair of bottle cushioning ilaps so as to extend through the slot of the related connecting link to thereby afford lost-motion weight-supporting connections to support the weight of said bottles directly from said handle when said handle is in its upper position and allow depressing movement of said handle as aforesaid when one carrier is to be stacked upon another.

8. A pre-formed bottle carrier formed from cardboard or like material and adapted to receive bottles of predetermined height and comprising side walls, a bottom wall, a handle portion., and bottle receiving sections extended between the side walls and the handle portion whereby the handle portion is disposed above said bottom wall substantially midway between said side walls, said bottle receiving sections bottle receiving openings therein, bottle cushioning naps cut from said bottle receiving sections and disposed to depend from the handle portion in alignment therewith, said handle portion including a part which may extend above the tops of bottles of said predetermined height that are disposed in said bottle receiving openings and rested on 'said bottom wall, said part having a handle opening therein, said naps having the lower edges thereoi normally spaced from said bottom wall suiliciently to enable limited downward movement of said handle said handle portionto be moved downwardly substantially into alignment with the tops of the bottles whereby said part of said handle portion may be depressed so as not to interfere withthe stacking of one bottle carrying carrier of the aforesaid character directly overand upon the tops of bottles in another such carrier, a plurality of connecting links cut from the material of said bottom wall and connected thereto substantially midway between said side walls, said links being extended upwardly so as to bedisposed partially in a face to face relation to said bottle cushioning ilaps, and means forming lost-motion weightsupporting connections between said flaps andthe related links to support the weight of said bottles directly from said handle when said handle is in its upper position'and allow depressing movement oi' said handle as aforesaid when one carrier is to be stacked upon another. Y

9. A pre-formed bottle carrier vformed from cardboard or like material and adapted to receive bottles of predetermined height and comprising side walls. a. bottom wall, a handle portion, and bottle receiving sections extended between the side walls and the handle portion whereby the handle portion is disposed above said bottom wall substantially midway between said side walls, said bottle receiving sections having bottle receiving openings therein, bottle cushioning flaps cut from said bottle receiving sections and disposed in pairs so as to depend from the handle portion in alignment therewith, said handle portion including a part which may extend above the tops of bottles of said predetermined height that are disposed in said bottle receiving openings and rested on said bottom wall. said part having a handle opening therein, said ilaps having the lower edges thereof normally spaced from said bottom wall suillciently to enable limited downward movement of said handleportion to'thereby enable the upper free end of said handle portion to be moved downwardly substantially into alignment with the tops of the bottleswhereby said part of said handle portion may be depressed so as not to interfere with the stacking of one bottle carrying carrier of the aforesaid character directly over and upon the tops of bottles in another such carrier, connecting links cut from the material of said bottom wall and connected thereto substantially midway between said side walls, said connecting links having longitudinally extended rslots formed therein. and said links being extended upwardly so as to project between the pairs of bottle cushioning flaps, and fastening means extended through and secured to each pair of bottle cushicning aps so as' to extend through the slot of the reiated'connecting link in position to engage the upper ends of said slots and thereby adord weight-supporting connections to support the weight of said bottles directly from said handle when said handle is in its upper position and constituting a lost-motion connection whereby depressing movement of said handle as aforesaid when one carrier is to be stacked.

10. A pre-formed collapsible bottle carrier formed from cardboard or like material and comprising a bottom wall, side walls joined to opposite edges of said bottom wall along lower fold lines, a handle portion, and bottle receiving sections extended between said side walls and said handle portion, each of said bottle receiving sections comprising a plurality of webs arranged at spaced intervals therein to aiord bottle receiving openings in the sections between said webs, said 15 t webs having ends thereof respectivelyconnected -to the handle portion andaside wall along score lines. the webs attheends o! said bottle receiving -sections having the score lines along which they are connected to the side walls disposed at-an inwardly and downwardly sloping angleto said lower fold lines, andv each oi such end webs also having a plurality of o ther score lines, at least two of whichv are substantially parallel, and formed at spaced points and; generally transversely of the web to enablebendingof each web as an incidentto verticalmovement o! said handle 'portion 1i. A pre-formed collapsible carrier4 foilned from cardboard or like material and comprising a bottom wall, side walls joined to opposite edges o! said bottom wall along lower fold lines; a handleportion, and bottle receivingsections extended between said side walls and said handle portion, each of said bottle receiving sections comprising a plurality oi' webs arranged at spaced intervals therein to aiford bottle receiving *openings in the sections between said webs, said webs having ends thereof respectively connected to the y handle portion and a side wall along score lines, the webs at the ends of saidbottle receiving sections having the hscore lines along which they are connected to the side walls disposed atan ml. wardly sand downwardly sloping angle to said lower fold lines, and such end -evebs also having a plurality of other score lines formed at spaced points and transversely thereof ,to enable bending between said webs, said webs having ends thereof respectively connected to the handle portion and a side wall along score lines, the webs at the ends oi' said bottle receiving sections having the score lines along which they are connected :to thejside walls disposed .at such an` angle to the longitudi nal axis of such webs that the inner ends of such last mentioned score lines are disposed closer to said bottom wall than the outer ends of such last mentioned score lines, and such end webs also having a plurality of other score lines formed at spaced points and transversely thereof to enable bending of said webs as an incident lto vertical movement of said handle portion. g

v 13. A pre-formed collapsible bottle carrier formed from cardboard or like material and ccmprising a bottom wail, side walls, a handle portion, and bottle receiving sections extended between said side walls `and said-handle portion, each of said bottle receiving sections comprising a plurality ofwebs arranged at spaced intervals therein to aiord bottle receiving openings in' the sections between said webs, said webs having ends thereof respectively connected to the handle portion and a side wall along score lines, the webs at the ends of said bottle receiving sections having a plurality of other score lines formed at spaced points and transversely thereof to enable bending 70 the carrier, a ilap formed on each of said 'I6 2,435,178-

asomo? end webs and' extended into the adiacentbottie opening for engagement by a bottle as it is loaded into such opening to tilt the related web inwardiy'in a predetermined-amount.

14. A pre-formed collapsible bottle carrier formed from cardboard or like material and comprising a bottom wall, side walls, a handle portion, and bottle receiving sections extended between said side walls and said handle portion, each of l said bottle receiving sections comprising a plurality oi webs arranged at spaced intervals therein "to atiord bottle receiving openings in the sections between said webs, said webs having ends thereof respectively connected to the handle portion u a side wall along score lines, the webs'at the ends of said bottle receiving sections having the score lines along which they are connected to the side' wallsy disposed at such an angle to the longitudi-D nal axis of such webs that the inner ends of such m last mentioned score lines are disposed closer to said bottom wall than the outer ends of such last mentioned score lines, and such end websalso having a plurality .of other score lines formed adjacent to the fold line that joins the end webs to said handle portion and extending from the outer edge o! said webs inwardly at an angie to said last mentioned fold line and in diverjsins relationto each other.

l5;z A prefformed collapsible bottle carrier n" formed from cardboard or like material and come prising a bottom wall. side walls, a handle portion, and bottle receiving sections extended between said Bide walls' and said `handle portiomeach of said bottle receiving sections comprising a plurality of webs arranged'at spaced intervals therein to aiiord bottle receiving openings in the sections between said webs, said webs having ends thereof respectively connected to the handle portion and a a side wall along score lines, the webs at the ends 40 of said bottle receiving sections having the score lines along which they 'are connected to -the side walls disposed at such an' angle to the longitudinal axis of such webs that the inner ends ofsuch last mentioned score lines are disposed closer to said bottom wall than the outer ends of such last mentioned score lines, and such end webs also having a plurality of other score lines formed adjacent to th `e fold line that'ioins the end webs to said handle portion andextending from the'outer edgeof said webs inwardly at an angle to said it is baded into such opening to tilt the related web inwardly and downwardly in a predetermined amount as the bottles are loaded into the carrier.

REFERENCES CITED QQ UNITED STATES PATENTS l Number Name Date v 2,160,620 Myers May 30, 1939 2,319,380 Wells May 18, 1943 2,331,137 Rolls Oct. 5, 1943 2,337,197 Holy Dec. 21, 1943 2,339,278 Lyons, Ji.' J an. 18, 1944 42,354,528 Luwey et ai .'Jllly 25, 1944 2,371,312. Potter Mar. 13, 1945 2,373,851 Potterv Apr. 17, 1945 Marshall Jan. 27, 1948- Disclaimer 2457,307.-Maynard G. Hall, Rutherford, and Thomas Hurban, Jr., Hasbrouck Heights, N. J. BoTlrLE CARRIER. Patent dated Dec. 28, 1948. Disclaimer led May 6, 195Q,by the assignee, Empire Boa: Corporation.

Hereb enters -this disclaimer to claims 1 to 15, inclusive, of said patent.

[Qybaal Gazette Jane 20, 1.950.] 

